“A Landscape of Generosity”
Prepared by Zeinab Elbarrad
Important Disclaimer: This project was developed while I was employed at Islamic Family & Social Services Association (IslamicFamily). All rights to the project belong to IslamicFamily. The work is presented here solely as part of my personal portfolio to illustrate my role and contributions.
Context
Each year during Ramadan, IslamicFamily designs a calendar for donors and community members — a tool that is both practical and symbolic. Beyond marking days of fasting, it serves as a an opportunity to showcase local art.
Challenge
For 2025, I wanted to incorporate data humanism into the calendar, visualizing the generosity and support of the community while but also tying into a larger cultural moment: the Canadian Prayer Rug had just been turned into a Canada Post stamp to commemorate Eid. This provided an opportunity to draw inspiration from the rug’s symbolism. The design question I asked myself was:
How can generosity be made visible through design, using cultural and artistic symbols from the Canadian Prayer Rug that resonate with community?
Process
Using principles of data humanism and inspired by both natural metaphors and the design language of the Canadian Prayer Rug, I created a “landscape of generosity” where acts of support became symbolic elements in a scene.
Using a variety of media, including acrylic, watercolour, pencil drawings, and embroidery, I created the different elements for the illustration, encompassing the following symbols:
Wheat, representing nourishment
Inspired by the Qur’an’s reference to the multiplication of good deeds (2:261), each wheat stalk represented the food shared with families in need. One kernel equaled 10 hampers, each ear represented 100, and together, 85 wheat ears symbolized 8,500 hampers distributed.
Trees, representing stability
Strong and steady, 63 lodgepole pines represented the emergency assistance provided to families facing urgent financial hardship. From rent and utility support to crisis relief, these moments of help ensured that families could stay in their homes and regain stability.
Mountains, representing refuge
Each of these 27 mountains represented a family who arrived in Edmonton, seeking safety and a fresh start. Just as mountains stand firm, so does the support that helps newcomers find their footing.
Stars, representing generosity
A sky full of 518 stars, each representing a supporter who made this work possible. Together, they reflected the collective generosity that keeps our community strong.
Outcomes
Produced a Ramadan calendar that was both functional and symbolic, distributed widely to community members and donors.
Connected the calendar’s theme to the nationally recognized Canadian Prayer Rug Eid stamp, grounding local generosity in a moment of cultural pride.
Strengthened donor connection by presenting their contributions as part of a larger narrative of resilience, belonging, and care.
Reflections
This project reminded me of the power of cultural context in design. By aligning with the Canadian Prayer Rug and its recognition as a Canada Post Eid stamp, Landscape of Generosity became more than a calendar: it was a statement of presence, identity, and continuity.
It also reinforced my belief in data storytelling as meaning-making — transforming acts of generosity into symbols that carry dignity, spirituality, and hope.